Homeless Youth in California Schools

Homeless Education's Laws and Definitions

This tab provides information about the McKinney-Vento Act as well as terms related to the homeless student group population specific to the California Department of Education (CDE). For more information and resources for homeless children and youth, visit the CDE Homeless Education web page.

McKinney-Vento Law

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act ) (42 U.S.C. § 11431-11435) is federal legislation that ensures the educational rights and protections of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It requires all local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that homeless students have access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschools, as provided to other children and youth. The McKinney-Vento Act defines LEAs as public school districts, direct-funded and locally funded charter schools, and county offices of education.

Definitions of Homelessness

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This definition also includes:

• Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
  
  
• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; 
  
  
• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
  
  
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii)

Related Definitions

California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS)

CALPADS is a student-level data system that includes student demographics, course data, discipline, assessments, staff assignments, and other data for state and federal reporting. For more information visit the CALPADS web page.

California School Dashboard (Dashboard)

The Dashboard contains reports that display the performance of local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and student groups on a set of state and local measures to assist in identifying strengths, challenges, and areas in need of improvement.

Census Day

Census Day is the first Wednesday in October, also known as Information Day when annual enrollment data are submitted by LEAs to the CDE through CALPADS.

Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS)

CARS is a data collection system to apply for Categorical Program Funding and to report on the use of those funds. For more information visit the CARS web page.

Cumulative Enrollment

The cumulative enrollment data includes an unduplicated count of all students who had a primary or short-term enrollment for at least one day at any time within the academic school year (July 1 to June 30).

Enroll and Enrollment

Enroll and enrollment means a student is signed up to attend classes and participate fully in school activities.

Immediate Enrollment

Immediate Enrollment is when a homeless student is entitled to immediately enroll in any public school that students in the same area are eligible to attend; even if: students have missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness or students do not have required documents, such as school records, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, guardianship, or other documents.

Homeless Youth

Homeless youth is defined as children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

Housing Type

• Hotels/Motels means living in a hotel or motel due to not having a fixed, permanent residence.
  
  

• Temporarily Doubled-Up means living with relatives or friends, due to economic hardship (including unaccompanied youth and runaways).
  
  
• Temporary Shelters means living in transitional housing.
  
  
• Temporarily Unsheltered* means living in abandoned buildings, campgrounds, vehicles, trailer parks, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers, bus and train stations, or is abandoned in the hospital.
  
  
  • *Unsheltered is also defined as substandard or inadequate housing and is judged on a case-by-case basis. A rule of thumb would be to see the dwelling as comparable to an automobile, in that it shelters, yet it is not adequate housing.

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

The LCFF establishes uniform grade span grants in place of the myriad of previously existing K–12 funding streams, including revenue limits, general-purpose block grants, and most state categorical programs (see School District and Charter School LCFF Entitlement). For county offices of education (COEs), the LCFF establishes funding for oversight activities and instructional programs (see County Office of Education LCFF Entitlement).

Reporting Requirements

All LEAs are required to report the number of homeless students enrolled during a school year through CALPADS and the Annual Homeless Survey.

Residence Type

• Fixed residence is one that is stationary, permanent, and not subject to change.
  
  
• Regular residence is one that is used on a normal, standard, and consistent basis.
  
  
• Adequate residence is one that is sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments.

School of Origin

School of origin is defined as the school that a child or youth attended when permanently housed, the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled when they became homeless, or a school that the child or youth has had some sort of connection to within the last 15 months.

School Stability

School stability measures whether a student is enrolled in the same school for an entire school year without a break in enrollment.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth is defined as a youth that is not in the physical custody of their parent or guardian and meets the definition of homelessness, as stated above.

Quick Facts Data

This tab provides quick facts about homeless students. Please visit the Homeless Children and Youth Data Reports web page to access static data reports specifically for homeless youth.

Census Day Statewide Homeless Student Enrollment Chart

Data Source: Annual Enrollment on DataQuest which consists of the number of students enrolled on the first Wednesday in October.

Census Day Statewide Homeless Student Enrollment Table

Data Source: Annual Enrollment from DataQuest which consists of the number of students enrolled on the first Wednesday in October.

State Level Educational Outcomes of Homeless Students

This tab provides state level educational outcomes for homeless students, which are published annually on DataQuest. DataQuest is the California Department of Education’s online, public reporting system that provides reports about California’s schools and school districts. To find out how to access reports specifically for homeless youth, visit the Homeless Children and Youth Data web page.

2021-22 Percent of Students Chronically Absent

The graph below displays the 2021–22 school year chronic absence rates for K-12 non-homeless students, 29.4% and homeless students, 46.1%. The chronic absence rate is calculated as the percent of students who miss ten percent or more of the days they are expected to attend. This report is available through DataQuest.

2021–22 Suspension Rate

The graph below displays the 2021–22 school year suspension rates for K-12 non-homeless students, 3.1% and homeless students, 5.6%. Suspension rate is calculated as the percent of all students who were suspended one or more times during the school year for an in-school or out-of-school suspension. This report is available through DataQuest.

2020–21 Stability Report

The stability rates are from a new report that provides a total count of cumulatively enrolled students with an enrollment start date on or after July 1 and on or before June 30 (Adjusted Cumulative Enrollment), a count of students identified as part of the Stability Count (i.e., students with stable enrollments), and a count of students identified as part of the Non-Stability Count (i.e., students without stable enrollments). Students are determined to have a “stable” enrollment during the academic year if the enrollment record is a minimum of 245 consecutive calendar days at the same school without a disqualifying exit. The Adjusted Cumulative Enrollment along with the Stability and Non-Stability Count are used to calculate the Stability Rate (Stability Count divided by the Adjusted Cumulative Enrollment) and the Non-Stability Rate (Non-Stability Count divided by the Adjusted Cumulative Enrollment) at the selected entity for the selected population using the available filters. This report is available through DataQuest.

The graph below displays the 2020–21 Stability Rate for K-12 homeless students, 92.5% and non-homeless students, 85.3%.

2021–22 Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate

The graph below displays the 2021–22 school year four-year cohort graduation rates for non-homeless students, 88.1% and homeless students, 72.9%. The four-year cohort graduation rate is calculated as the percent of students who graduate high school within four years from the time they enter ninth grade with a traditional high school diploma. This report is available through DataQuest.

2021–22 Four-Year Cohort Dropout Rate

The graph below displays the 2021–22 school year four-year cohort dropout rates for non-homeless students, 7.2% and homeless students, 17.2%. The four-year cohort dropout rate is calculated as the percent of cohort students who (1) do not graduate with a regular high school diploma, (2) do not otherwise complete high school, or (3) are not still enrolled as a “fifth-year senior” are considered dropouts. The report is available through DataQuest.

State Level Accountability for Homeless Youth

This tab provides the latest statewide accountability indicators for homeless youth.

California's accountability system is a multiple measures system that assesses how local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are meeting the needs of their students. Performance on these measures is reported through the California School Dashboard and System of Support (Dashboard web page).

For the past two years, many state and federal accountability requirements were waived or adjusted due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LEAs, schools, and students. Beginning with the 2021–22 school year, the requirements to hold schools and districts accountable for student outcomes has returned with the release of the 2022 Dashboard.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all states to determine schools eligible for support. Similarly, under state law, Assembly Bill (AB) 130, which was signed into law in 2021, mandates the return of the Dashboard using only current year performance data to determine LEAs for support. Therefore, compared to prior Dashboards, the 2022 Dashboard does not report change (or the difference from the prior year) and performance levels using colors. Instead, performance levels for all state indicators are reported using one of five Status levels (ranging from Very High, High, Medium, Low, and Very Low), which are based on the 2021–22 school year data.

English Language Arts

This measure of the Academic Performance state indicator reports student progress on the statewide assessment for English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA). It uses the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments and California Alternate Assessments, and it is calculated based on the average "Distance from Standard" for all students in grades 3 through 8 and/or grade 11. The homeless student group scored 62.9 points below standard. This data is available on the Dashboard .

Number of Students: 98,561

Mathematics

This measure of the Academic Performance state indicator reports student progress on the statewide assessment for mathematics. It uses the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments and California Alternate Assessments, and it is calculated based on the average "Distance from Standard" for all students in grades 3 through 8 and/or grade 11. The homeless student group scored 101.8 points below standard. This data is available on the Dashboard .

Number of Students: 98,179

Chronic Absenteeism

The Chronic Absenteeism state indicator shows how many students were absent for 10 percent or more of the total instructional school days each student was expected to attend. 45.1 percent of homeless students in grades kindergarten through eighth were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year. This data is available on the Dashboard .

Number of Students: 149,609

Graduation Rate

The Graduation Rate state indicator reflects the number of students who graduate with a regular high school diploma in four years or five years. 74.4 percent of homeless students graduated in the 2021-22 school year. This data is available on the Dashboard .

Number of Students: 35,656

Suspension Rate

Percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who have been suspended at least once in a given school year. Students who are suspended multiple times are only counted once. 5.5 percent of the homeless student group were suspended for at least one day. This data is available on the Dashboard .

Number of Students: 224,199

Resources

This tab provides resources specific to the needs and outcomes of homeless children and youth.

Educational Support Services

• Resources for Homeless Children and Youth
  This page provides access to resources related to homeless students' rights to enroll and participate fully in school.
  
  
• Homeless Education
  This page provides access to information and resources for homeless children and youth and their right to enroll, attend, participate fully, and succeed in school.
  
  
• New Identification Strategies and Resources in Response to Coronavirus (DOCX)
  Identification strategies and resources for LEAs in response to Coronavirus for students experiencing homelessness in one easy to access page.
  
  
• CDE’s Homeless Education Resource Listserv
  Join the Homeless Children and Youths Education Resources listserv to receive information and updates via e-mail relating to the education of homeless children.

Data

• Homeless Children and Youth Data
  This page provides access to information and DataQuest reports for California's homeless children and youth.
  
  
• Accessing Educational Data
  This page provides access to data collected by the California Department of Education (CDE), including enrollment data, demographic and student group data, staff data, school and district accountability, statewide assessment results, and directory information.
  
  
• Homeless Data Collection Timeline
  The page provides data collection timelines for California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CAPLADS) and Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS).
  
  
• Data Crosswalk for the California School Dashboard and DataQuest (PDF)
  This Data Crosswalk document provides a short overview of the differences in the way that data are produced for DataQuest and the California School Dashboard.
  

External Websites

• California Homeless Education Technical Assistance Centers (HETAC)
  HETAC provides support and technical assistance to county offices of education (COEs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested stakeholders to ensure educational access and success for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The HETAC network is operated by the Contra Costa COE, Los Angeles COE, and San Diego COE.
  
• The National Center for Homeless Education’s (NCHE) data web site
  For more information about State Level Data and Contact Information.
  
  
• NCHE’s data page for California
  The most recently available years of the U.S. Department of Education's EDFacts Initiative including homeless youth enrollment, subgroups, and contact information.
  
  
• Schoolhouse Connection
  A national non-profit organization working to overcome homelessness through education.
  

Frequently Asked Questions

The sections below address the most commonly asked questions about homeless student data.

Identification | Data Collection | Data Certification

Identification

Data Collection

Data Certification